Effectively Using Twitter for the SMB

Building upon last week we are going to look more in depth at each of the Social Media avenues and how the SMB can use them to increase their revenue.  This week we will take a look at Twitter and how to effectively use twitter to increase your business.

Why?

When used correctly Twitter can have the same benefits as hiring a sales person for your business.  Think of any cold call you have received and ask yourself what is the one thing they all have in common?  Every salesperson who calls you has a reason for calling.  Usually this reason takes the guise of a promotion, one time offer, way to save you money or way to make you money.  Twitter can act as a salesperson for your SMB by letting your network of "followers" know whenever something changes within your business; at a far more cost effective rate than hiring a salesperson to cold call your network.

How?

There are two parts to the "how" of Twitter; building your network and keeping your network.  The one question most SMB owners have regarding Twitter is "how do I get people to follow me?"  There is no magical answer to that question but the most important thing to build your network is simply being active.  Follow other people and owners (even those within your industry) as they will likely follow you in return.  Retweet everything relating to your industry.  Send every customer an email with a link to your Twitter account and ask them to follow you.  Every customer who comes in-store give a business card to with your twitter information.  Get your friends and family to follow you on Twitter.  Do everything you can to build a network of followers because your actual audience increases exponentially with every follower.

After you have built your network it becomes increasingly important to maintain and entertain your network.  Videos, pictures, sales, promotions, industry articles and humour are just a few of the many ways to ensure your network does not erode over time.  Give people a reason to check your Twitter profile every day and whenever they need something your industry provides they will think of you first. 

What?

Videos:  With 3G quickly becoming ancient and 46" TV screens now considered small the populace of the world is becoming more and more reliant on watching over reading.  What this means for the SMB owner is that you have to make videos if you want to reach your audience more regularly.  Try to make at least one video a month and post it on your entire Social Media network, including as a tweet.  Every type of business can produce content appropriate for videos. 

Pictures:  Every couple of days minimum, if not once a day, tweet a picture of your business, products or customers (ask for permission of course).  People buy from people, don't be afraid to put up pictures of you and your staff and let your Social Media network put a face to the company.  Any and every new product or any existing products that are selling well are great things to post a picture of.  In the service industry?  Post a picture of your new truck wrap or a new tool and especially tweet a picture of any renovations you do. 

Sales and Promotions:  This one is done well by most businesses but it is worth reiterating that any new information about your business should be tweeted to your network.  For all you know, some of your followers have been to your place of business and put off buying something because it was too expensive; maybe a sale is all the motivation they need to come back and make a purchase.  Another thing to keep in mind is offering special discounts to those who are part of your social media network.  Offer a promotion of any kind and tweet it with a code word.  Those who make a purchase and tell you the code word get a deal.  This not only can increase your sales but also affords a measure of trackability to your Social Media campaign.

Industry News:  Tweeting links to industry news is a great way to get people thinking about your business.  As an example if you are a contractor and you read an article on how renovating your bathrooms can increase the value of your home by 10% you should definitely tweet that.  Or if you are a promotional products shop and find an article detailing the benefit of fridge magnets to companies you should definitely tweet that.  Your network needs to be constantly reminded of why they need what your business provides.     

Referrals:  When A customer has a good experience with you and has Twitter encourage them to post it to their Twitter account and then retweet it on your Twitter account.

Twitter is an absolute must for any SMB out there.  If used effectively you can be constantly advertising to a network of clients that are interested in what you provide at no or a minimal cost.  Build your network, maintain your network, increase your sales.

Social Media and the Small or Medium Sized Business Owner

The history of attracting new customers for the small and medium business(SMB) owner has changed dramatically over the last 5 years and Social Media is the new must-do for any SMB.  As a SMB owner there is no better marketing scenario than advertising to an audience who are actually looking for your business.  A scenario like that, usually means you will be getting the best penetration rate and the highest ROI.  Through Social Media you are essentially building that exact scenario by creating an audience of people who have chosen to "follow" or "like" you.

In marketing there are two basic forms; directional and creative.  The majority of marketing is creative:  TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, flyers, buses, benches etc...  All fundamentally are the business looking for the customer.  Directional was for a long time mostly confined to directories and classifieds; the customer looking for the business.  Social Media has essentially redefined marketing, in that it is, the best of both worlds, creative and directional.  Using platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Blogs, small business now have the opportunity to build their brand(creative) and advertise to an audience who has needed/will need their services(directional).      

When designing a Social Media campaign there are many avenues to consider and correct/incorrect ways of using the various Social Media platforms.  Over the next couple of weeks Carlyn Services Inc. will take a look at some of the various platforms available and how to correctly use them in a series of blog posts, right here.  As a homework assignment, see if you can identify all of the buttons below.


Picture From:  http://www.gamerwok.com/main/tag/social-media

   

27 years of Technology Changes in My Office

1985 the year I started contracting, 1988 the year I started working from home.  My computer used floppy discs, took forever to boot up and I had to go into the office to pick up and deliver my assignments.  There was no email, only a few faxes, no webinars or yahoo chat or msn messenger.  NO INTERNET.  But there were people.  Lots of personal contact, either on the phone or in the office.  Job interviews were F2F, based on your typed resume with no fancy fonts or pictures.  No online surveys, video interviews or phone generated generic interviews.  Nope not back in 1988, show up at the company's office - early, in your best suit or dress.  Preparation for the interview - friends/family who knew about the company, newspapers, maybe the library.  My desk came equipped with an electric typewriter, my computer, my phone, and a drawer for my paper files.

2012 - how the world has changed.  Preparation for the interview - google, yahoo, bing searches.  Linked in to find out about the person interviewing you.  Assignments are sent to you through email, voip, vpn.  You need to talk to someone - try bbming, chats, email.  Talk on the phone - why bother - I can text.  F2F meetings - oh my I would have to get out of my jeans.  Oops in 2012 jeans are ok, sweats maybe not.  My desk has a beautiful 19 inch monitor, a colour printer and this wonderful machine that copies, prints 50 ppm, faxes and scans.  Yes my portable phone is around as well as my cell phone.  I have a calendar that beeps to remind me of my appointments.  In 2012 I am more well connected than the Prime Minister was in 1985.  The only thing missing are actual people.  Now we have social media - twitter, blogging, linked in, facebook, etc.

27 years  of changes, what is on the horizon, I can't even imagine.